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Why wait until Dec. 21, 2012? Not when 16th Street Theater starts its 2012 season with the end of times. Eric Pfeffinger’s “Accidental Rapture,” a comedy about faith, friendship and the end of the world, plays Jan. 12 to Feb. 18, in Berwyn. Directed by Kevin Christopher Fox, the play is the first offering in 16th Street’s Season Five 2012: Love, Faith and the Unknown.
A lot has happened in the 10 years since Amy, Paul and Richard were in grad school together. Amy and Paul got married and became academics; Richard also found a wife, a new job selling Christian merchandise, and a new life serving God. So Amy’s not really looking forward to spending an awkward weekend at Richard’s house. Will Richard’s born-again wife object to Amy’s feminism? Will Amy and Paul’s daughter get brainwashed by their God-fearing hosts? And can Amy keep herself from cursing for 48 hours?
Of course things just get worse when the world ends.
It features Associate Artist Stephanie Diaz (just seen in Lookingglass’ “The Great Fire”), along with Rob Fagin (seen in David Cromer’s “Our Town” and “Picnic”), Niall McGinty, Erin Myers, Laura Shatkus and Catherine Stegemann (from Heddatron) as 12-year-old Greta. With designs by Associate Artists Barry Bennett (Sound - Jeff Nomination “Hickorydickory”), Kurt Sharp (Scenic) and Mac Vaughey (Lights) with Sarah Ross and Emily Waecker.
“Accidental Rapture” premiered in Chicago in 2003, with Visions and Voices Theatre Company.
“Eric Pfeffinger’s remarkable new play is a revelation in more ways than one,” wrote the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones. “This is the most promising Chicago premiere by an unknown playwright since Rebecca Gilman’s ‘The Glory of Living’ at the Circle Theatre years ago.”
“I have always been a big fan of Eric’s writing and this seemed like the perfect time to bring ‘Rapture’ to 16th Street,” says Artistic Director Ann Filmer. “While we lived through two more failed rapture predictions in 2011 alone, we still have the end of the Mayan calendar to get past. Americans and capitalism both love fear, and our great cultural divide only seems to widen by the day. But Eric Pfeffinger keeps us laughing all the way to the end, while surprising us with questions of faith and belief.”
Eric Pfeffinger talks about his writing
He’s a playwright in Ohio who grew up in Indiana and says he likes to work in Chicago. He enjoys a robust Midwestern humility. In Chicago, his works have been produced by a variety of stage companies. He’s developed several scripts, including “Rapture,” through programs at Chicago Dramatists. He’s collaborated on pieces with the Internationalists and the New York Neo-Futurists. His plays have been published by Dramatic Publishing and Dramatics magazine, and he’s written articles for American Theatre magazine. He’s co-author of the novel “The High-Impact Infidelity Diet,” available on finer remainder tables everywhere.
Why wait until Dec. 21, 2012? Not when 16th Street Theater starts its 2012 season with the end of times. Eric Pfeffinger’s “Accidental Rapture,” a comedy about faith, friendship and the end of the world, plays Jan. 12 to Feb. 18, in Berwyn. Directed by Kevin Christopher Fox, the play is the first offering in 16th Street’s Season Five 2012: Love, Faith and the Unknown.
A lot has happened in the 10 years since Amy, Paul and Richard were in grad school together. Amy and Paul got married and became academics; Richard also found a wife, a new job selling Christian merchandise, and a new life serving God. So Amy’s not really looking forward to spending an awkward weekend at Richard’s house. Will Richard’s born-again wife object to Amy’s feminism? Will Amy and Paul’s daughter get brainwashed by their God-fearing hosts? And can Amy keep herself from cursing for 48 hours?
Of course things just get worse when the world ends.
It features Associate Artist Stephanie Diaz (just seen in Lookingglass’ “The Great Fire”), along with Rob Fagin (seen in David Cromer’s “Our Town” and “Picnic”), Niall McGinty, Erin Myers, Laura Shatkus and Catherine Stegemann (from Heddatron) as 12-year-old Greta. With designs by Associate Artists Barry Bennett (Sound - Jeff Nomination “Hickorydickory”), Kurt Sharp (Scenic) and Mac Vaughey (Lights) with Sarah Ross and Emily Waecker.
“Accidental Rapture” premiered in Chicago in 2003, with Visions and Voices Theatre Company.
“Eric Pfeffinger’s remarkable new play is a revelation in more ways than one,” wrote the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones. “This is the most promising Chicago premiere by an unknown playwright since Rebecca Gilman’s ‘The Glory of Living’ at the Circle Theatre years ago.”
“I have always been a big fan of Eric’s writing and this seemed like the perfect time to bring ‘Rapture’ to 16th Street,” says Artistic Director Ann Filmer. “While we lived through two more failed rapture predictions in 2011 alone, we still have the end of the Mayan calendar to get past. Americans and capitalism both love fear, and our great cultural divide only seems to widen by the day. But Eric Pfeffinger keeps us laughing all the way to the end, while surprising us with questions of faith and belief.”
Eric Pfeffinger talks about his writing
He’s a playwright in Ohio who grew up in Indiana and says he likes to work in Chicago. He enjoys a robust Midwestern humility. In Chicago, his works have been produced by a variety of stage companies. He’s developed several scripts, including “Rapture,” through programs at Chicago Dramatists. He’s collaborated on pieces with the Internationalists and the New York Neo-Futurists. His plays have been published by Dramatic Publishing and Dramatics magazine, and he’s written articles for American Theatre magazine. He’s co-author of the novel “The High-Impact Infidelity Diet,” available on finer remainder tables everywhere.
16th Street Theater
Recognized by the Chicago Reader as Chicago’s Best Emerging Theater 2009, 16th Street Theater is at the Berwyn Cultural Center, 6420 16th St. Just west of Ridgeland, the theater is one mile southwest of the Austin exit off the Eisenhower Expressway/290 and the Austin Blue line. There is free parking in the lot one block west at 16th and Gunderson. Visit www.16thstreettheater.org to subscribe to Season Five 2012: Love, Faith and the Unknown, purchase tickets or for more information.
Show times
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; and 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; with no 5 p.m. show Jan. 14. For tickets, visit www.16thstreettheater.org, call (708) 795-6704 or stop by the North Berwyn Park District, 1619 Wesley Ave., Berwyn. General admission seats cost $18, $13 for groups of eight or more. Student Rush Tickets are available only on the day of show for $10.
The new season of Berwyn’s professional Equity theater is supported, in part, by Berwyn Development Corporation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Illinois Arts Council and a SmartGrowth grant from Chicago Community Trust, and numerous individuals.
